RPlog:Sowing the Seeds of Revolution
The Kreldin Estate has stood for generations along the Bluff, its owners wealthy and influential in Corellian society. Constructed four hundred eighty years before the Battle of Yavin, the Estate's architecture is Gothic in style, and spans a good three thousand, five hundred acres of land, built up with the wealth the Kreldin family received from its large mining corporation. Following the entrance into the Estate, a large gate, is a large courtyard, featuring a vast system of hedges, which all come together in the center, where a fountain is set into the grounds. The paths through the courtyard are all set in stone; one path heads straight for the estate, cutting through the center, with more breaking off and visiting different areas of the courtyard. The manor itself can accomodate several hundred guests. The Estate is currently in the hands of Tesera Kreldin after the death of her husband, Kennith Kreldin, several years ago. The Estate has its own staff, though it is not particularly large; most of the work around the Estate is handled by droids. The interior of the manor is indeed a sight; the entrance is massive, with a stairway leading up to a balcony. Atop the stairway is a large portait of the founder of the Estate, Johan Kreldin. The manor features its own art gallery, collected from various planets and cultures. The Kreldin Estate is one of the finer pieces of architecture in all of Corellian territory. Designed over four hundred years ago by a reknown architect, it has stood the test of time and continues to house each generation of Kreldins. After the announced death of Danik Kreldin, the Estate fell into the hands of the Imperial commander's cousins. Nevertheless, lurking behind the Estate walls, resting in his private study, Danik Kreldin, aged and battle-scarred, prepares for the arrival of his special guests, the guests that would form the core of the Imperial revolution. He has prepared much for this day and has suited appropiately: the all-too familiar white uniform of an Imperial Grand Admiral. Bullion epaulettes. Rows and rows of medals and ribbons. If one saw him, it'd be hard not to recognize the Imperial Supreme Commander who led the military in the blitzkrieg and the now infamous liberation of Imperial Center. The gates to the Estate are opened. Security guards from the Sindahar Mining Corporation stand at attention, checking IDs and ensuring only those who Danik has specified are granted access. From the gates, the guests would be escorted to the doors of Kreldin's private study where the Imperial commander anxiously awaits. - Having taken the luxury of using her own personal vehicle as a way to shuttle from ship to surface, Caiton guides the Red Sky into a landing pad at the Starport then, accompanied by her XO, makes their way towards the Kreldin estate. She has a slightly wary yet curious expression on her face, the estate bringing up memories of the last award ceremony held here. This memory is over shadowed by the haunting image of the explosion of the late admiral's fighter which caused a gap in the chain of command which has not, to her satisfaction, been completely answered. The wary look on her face is faint, only someone who's familiar with her personality would be able to notice it at all. Striding up to the Estate, Thraken is most likely one of the most junior members of the people assembling, but that does not make him nervous in the slightest. He is wearing the finest suit that he has, however. His crystal blue eyes scan the various people assembled for this...whatever it is. He had received his invitation and thus has come. Not many can actually argue with someone with such high esteem as the one that invited him. So now he simply walks in onto the estate and goes to where he is directed, the only real sound emanating from the man come from the finely polished shoes hitting the surface of the floor. --------- Keline is walking alongside her CO, but just slightly behind, as she tilts her head up to study the estate briefly as it looms above them. Her face seems a study in casualness as she walks along, apparently not awed by grandeur or regret, as she keeps her ID card clasped in her right hand for the attentions of the guard at the gate. Walking up to the gates as if he actually lived behind the walls, Krieg actually had been here several times. A few before he was in the military, and invited as a guest after he was commissioned. Though today he's got on a long trenchcoat with a light gray collared shirt underneath, something that could be seen around Corellia as quite common. He shows his ID, looking away from any eyes that may be trying to pry in to what was happening here. He has come early, and there aren't any other people around when he shows. Entering the actual compound and going out of sight behind some large trees he casually makes his way to the main manor, entering as servants open the doors. Nodding to them he keeps quiet and rather in the shadows of most being's view, content to be able to watch slightly from a distance. Of course his expression is neutral and professional, but his thoughts on the various things in motion were varied, and to the ambassador he has voiced many of them. It was time now to see if any of them would be addressed. Walking along the path up to the Estate, Dareus is accompanied by his own bodyguards again; although this time, he dismisses them immediately at the gate; while showing his identification to the security personnel. He offers them the usual, "I'm expected" before turning to his guards, "You can wait for me at my old house; I'm not sure how long I'll be." While they nod and walk off, Antoine begins his trek up the path before noticing some other familiar faces, waiting for them just beyond the 'checkpoint'. Solon_Halwinder arrives with little ceremony, as is his way. He is not escorted or flanks by subordinates, he is not flanked by guards. When challenged by the doorguards, Solon simply grunts, continuing to walk. If Danik and his men don't know who he is by now, they never will. A cigar is lit between chimped teeth, deciding today to embody the grunt stereotype today. Juran is just thumping his way along the path, his long strides taking him up towards the estate, grumbling as he looks rather out of place in such an upper-class area. His bagged eyes and rather haggard overall appearance not helping this one bit. He comes to a stop, eyeing one of the servants before he fumbles around with his belt before drawing out an ID card and handing it over, then walking inside afterwards, all the while mumbling and looking around himself with a slightly overwhelmed gaze. Walking up to the estate Damien is dressed in normal civilian attire from a sort of jeans like pair of pants to a t-shirt with a zip up hoody and jacket over him to protect him from the coldness that might arise before the meeting ends. Running his hand through his hair, that has grown out quite a bit since he left for his short LOA from the squadron a while back, he removes his ID badge from his inside pocket to show it to the guards. With their nods he continues his long journey up to the mansion. Entering the great residence he looks around and seeing his squadron CO he is slightly put at ease with this whole situation knowing there will be at least one familiar face in the room. Removing a pair of tiny earphones that are connect to a small portable music player in his jacket pocket he moves over to one of the walls to stand there and watch as the others drift in. His heart is racing with the anticipation of the discussion that will be the topic of tonight's clandestine meeting here at the estate. The doors open as the guests arrive outside Kreldin's study, and the security guard moves aside, extending his arm in a motion to tell the Imperials it's okay to walk in. Kreldin's study is a replica of his suite aboard the Malevolence; the walls are lined with portraits, trophies, and military citations, and other personal achievements and oddities Kreldin has collected over the years. In the back of the study, straight across from the entrance, is Kreldin's desk, beyond which is a fireplace. Above that fireplace rests a gigantic painting of Palpatine in the final days of the Republic, standing before the starburst. Numerous chairs have been set up and lined in front of the desk to accomodate the guests. And, in the center of it all, is the room's owner and coordinator of tonight's event: Danik Kreldin. Standing in his usual manner befitting a hardened military veteran, Kreldin extends his arms in greetings to the arrivals. "Welcome to the Kreldin Estate, ladies and gentlemen. I'm glad you've all accepted my invitation as tonight is a very important night. By tonight's end, we will have set forth a campaign to rid the Empire of its cancer. Some of you may be wondering what it is I'm talking about. I will explain in a few moments. But, please, make yourselves comfortable. We have much to discuss." - Noting the arrival of other ranking and trusted officers along with a few of the bureau agents, Caiton is profoundly intrigued as to the context of the invitation and the meeting itself. She casts a sidelong glance at her XO, one eyebrow arched upwards slightly in even more piqued curiosity but merely accepts the invitation to enter the study. The sight that greets her quite literally stuns her into a moment of silence. Caiton prides herself on being composed and unfazable and this prompts a close-mimic of a landed-fish, her jaw dropping open ever so slightly before she regains her composure and smoothes one hand over her suit jacket before taking one of the offered seats. "I can see that the rumors of your demise are greatly exaggerated," she says simply, taking the obvious point. Smiling faintly, the Bureu agent inclines his head towards the Grand Admiral and only says, "Evening, Grand Admiral." If there is any shock about the survival of this man, none is shown yet. One thing this agent always has been is to keep his face calm and composed. And then, he proceeds to move towards the seats offered by that Grand Admiral. His cold eyes scan the room a few times, and he knows much of the history of the Grand Admiral, and is not taken by surprise. His eyes scan the people around the meeting another time before he finally takes his seat. He slowly crosses his legs and places his hand upon his knees, waiting. Keline returns the glance, offering her commodore a slight shrug in response, before she slides her ID back into a pocket and follows her CO into the office. Upon spotting the previously thought dead Admiral she comes to a more erect posture in automatic response. He may be dead, but he's still an admiral. She then follows Caiton into one of the seat next to her. Following the guard's direction Damien walks into the room and to the right. He is still in a slight bit of shock to see the former Grand Admiral but it does not keep him from showing a small smirk as he takes up a place behind one of the chairs. Prefering to stand he remains upright as the rest do what they do. Taking in the sights of the room he scans the walls until his eyes fall upon the Admiral once again and he has slight feeling inside that everything might turn out well for the Empire after all. "Call me crazy; but I always had hoped I'd be so mobile when I'm dead." Once he fully enters the room, Antoine nods to Danik. It's easily seen as no surprise that the Ambassador is seeing him in person once again. He takes a seat closer on towards the front of the room; staying within easy earshot of Danik, "It's nice being able to make history for once, instead of just becoming part of it." A smile crosses his face while he leans back in his chair, waiting for the others to get seated. Juran gives a small nod towards Kreldin, before following it up with a, "'lo." He then looks over at Caiton, raising up his eyebrows a small moment before giving Kreldin another look. He shrugs his shoulders, then casually walks inside and moves over to one of the corner seats, then flops himself down in it, kicking back and relaxing a small amount. "S'comfy chairs, 'at least. Right.." He shifts somewhat, moving the chair so he can get a better view of the others when they all take their seats. "My death was not as exaggerated as you think, Commodore," Danik says in reply to Lynae. "In fact, from a certain point of view, it's very well true. I'll spare most of the details, but, after I was shot down I was left to myself in the cold of space." Danik moves about as the group take their seats, sitting himself down at his desk and sitting upright. "My oxygen ran out. Fortunately, I was salvaged by a refugee freighter. I was suffering from amnesia, and took up the identity of Alois. From there I made my way on Calamari for a month, until my memory started coming back to me... I'm sorry I haven't made my survival known to the Empire yet, but the current situation in the Empire has made it impossible for me to do so." Danik presses a switch on his desk. Moments later, a servant of Kreldin's enters, pushing a cart of alcohol and other beverages in and bringing it before the Imperial guests. He then starts to hand out drinks as Danik continues. "My survival is not what's important now, however. What is important is the cancer that has inflicted our great Empire. The Empire that we have served, fought for, and died for. It saddens me, deeply, to see the Empire in such a state. I know you all have similiar feelings, that something is just not right with the Empire. That is why I reached out to you." As the servant pours Danik a glass of Corellian ale, Danik stands up and locks eyes with his guests. "As we sit here, comfortably, our Empire has been stolen from us by an alien calling itself Aleister Vadim. An alien with no legitimacy to the throne that our great Palpatine sat on; an alien that not only has publically declared Palpatine a fraud, but has also insulted our great Emperor Valak. More than that, this alien has stepped on the very ideals of the Empire. The very ideals we fight for. Hell, this alien has even dared to say he will LEASH our proud military. This alien, this infestation, this cancer, as I call it, must be dealt with, ladies and gentlemen. I did not spend the past four decades of my life to see the Empire fall in such a way. I ask you, no, I plead with you," he says, his voice raising as he reaches out to the assembly. "Will you stand by me for one final battle? Will you take up arms with me once more? Will you join me in curing our beloved Empire?" "Quite frankly..." As Dareus takes a whiskey, holding it in his hand while he speaks, "We were stopped dead in our tracks, by some absentee-landlord who now sits on a throne that he doesn't even deserve to look at." Taking a small sip, he places it down against his knee, "We've lost many good Naval officers to even civilian occupations due to stupid decisions that are obviously coming from the throne; our fleet is leashed at a time that we should be letting it run free. We'd have far more than just Coruscant by know if it weren't for him." There isn't too many other ways to really put it from his perspective. Tapping a finger against the rim of the glass, he glances around the room for a few seconds, eyeing everyone for the briefest of seconds before looking back at the proud white uniform with one of the greatest military commanders in the Empire's history, "You know very well I'd follow you into hell." The wry grin only lasts a second as he tips it towards Danik, "There's no way I'll sit on the sidelines for this." "So.." Juran pauses, lifting up a hand to stop the servant from handing him a drink as he tugs a hip flask out of his multi-purpose belt, unscrewing it before drinking down gods-know-what. He cringes for a moment, before wiping his mouth with the back of his gloved hand, sitting back in the chair with his flask. "Y'already asked me bout' 'is one. Y'know I agree, n' that ah'll help ya with what I can. Y'know that myself and me crew's expercise isn't in full on battles, us 'pirate scum'." He pauses for a moment, chuckling to himself, "Its in whit most people would call.. how kin a' put it.." He thins his lips, "Terrorism. Ah, aye, at's the word." He shifts in his seat, leaning forwards a small amount as he takes another quick swig from his flask. "t'Privateer is at yer command, as per always, Mr Kreldin." The man takes one last long drink from his hip flask, then screws the cap back on. "Whit 'e said. Basically." Juran gives a thumbjerk at Dareus. "T'the pits and back again..." - Caiton surveys the Admiral then accepts the offered drink, pleasantly surprised to find her drink of choice being offered instead of having to ask for it. She curls her hands around the cup, gazing briefly into the amber depths, contemplating the words of the admiral before she begins to form her own spoken reply. "I accepted the position of Commodore of this new Task Force of ours with the expectation that I would be given the leave, the tools, cooperation, personnel and faith to do the mission at hand. The mission given has been redefined to the point where we are told, I am told, that the plans I draw up are not things that this task force needs to be doing. The word of this new Emperor is that all the battle tactics that we have employed and the missions we have deployed are no longer actions we do. This new Emperor.. comes out of the shadows. Flanked by other force wielding caped individuals. I ask this question," she says quietly, voicing words that are clearly treason and glancing around the room as she does so, the look in her eyes and on her face is calm, unperturbed. "Why is our government, why is the fate of the universe, held in the hands - bent to the will - of men and women who's only claim to power is the ability to affect and manipulate this elusive Force? This Force, that to the best of my understanding, is nothing more than the Universe's way of recycling." She sips from her glass before continuing, "If you're asking if I'm In, am I willing to stand with you for one more battle, am I willing to take up arms and employ all my skills and training in order to cure this poison from our beloved Empire? The answer is yes." She gestures with one hand to indicate she has one more thing to add, "And I ask that my hand be the one to Recycle this new Emperor that casts despite upon the legacy of Palpatine." Again, only silence comes from the young agent. Thraken's cold eyes focus onto the impressive warrior in front of him, and listens to the plea. He raises his hand and waves off any drink that is offered to him, his ears intent on whatever the people in this room say. He is already calculating possible courses of actions in his mind. Several theories pop up before he continues to look at Danik and says cooly, "I agree with your assessment, Grand Admiral. I think it likely we can count on the support of the Navy. I do fear, however, that if we were to simply enact a coup...the general population may see us as...illegitimate. The masses are idiots, yet with time could be used by us to overthrow the idiot without too much bloodshed..." Again, Thraken continues to smile thinking about all the deviousness that he will come up with. And now, he continues to listen to the people assembled. Keline flicks her eyes from Danik to each speaker as they talk before her eyes drift up to Caiton as she speaks herself. She raises her eyebrows at this, but conceals any other facial expression as she takes a sip from the cup of tea she's given. "I owe Commodore Caiton a good deal..and I respect her judgement. So where she goes I'll go..even if it means making practically everyone higher then me on the chain of command angry. Solon_Halwinder takes a glass of whiskey, and sips it. HGe knows that a speech is probably expected of him, but all he offers is this: "Well, Grand Admiral. EMperor Valak was not my biggest fan, and I not his, but there has always been a begrudging respect between us. However, this so-called Emperor Vadim is not the EMpire. His liberal agenda and defanging of the Imperial military, coupled with his lack of respect or recognition for the members of the Imperial Royal Court vexes me greatly. He has held me back time after time in my efforts to cleanse the EMpire of its criminal elements and the incompetant Governors, such as Bailey, who are running our glorious planets into glorified crime planets. But I would not be here if I did not support you." Damien waves away the drink as the servant approaches him and offers him some brandy. Thinking for a moment he stares at the resurrected Admiral then nods, "I don't know about the rest of you but I sure as hell never signed up to fight under an alien, especially one that discounts all the great things our beloved Palpatine did....but, sir, for him to be in the position of Emperor he had to have someone or someones helping him. This means that we will have to fight our own people. If we do...what makes us any better then the rebels, admiral?" - "What makes us better than the rebels is that we aren't talking about a full frontal assault in massive numbers that expends our assets and that of those loyal to this Emperor. Remember that many of our soldiers are bound to their oaths to serve the Emperor. We are bound to the same, I will remind you all," Caiton says quietly in reply to Damien Loki. "I have thought on this at great length, as many of us have perhaps. It is my opinion that a large frontal assault would be ill advised. We need a small strike force to distract the emperor and his guards. While he is grandstanding, one of us - I again volunteer - deftly delivers a fatal blow. One that the Emperor is unable to repair using his own abilities. I further speculate that it would be advisable to bring in other Talents of this nature to nullify his abilities." Keline shoots her commodore a look, taking another sip, as she settles it down before speaking. "Wouldn't that mean a fatal blow for you as well, Commodore?" - "Possibly. Nothing in life is certain other than death," Caiton replies simply, her gaze shifting briefly to her XO as a faint smile forms on her face. "If I understand this correctly, we are all volunteering our services. And I believe that I am uniquely suited to delivering a killing blow, unexpectedly." Damien shakes his head, "As you said we are bound by oath to the Emperor...whoever he may be. Some of those rebels, they were bound by the same oath not so long ago before they betrayed their people to fight against us." Solon_Halwinder shrugs. "I have no such moral qualms. I swore an oath to no man. So you have no worries with me." "I would like to remind Damien, that we swore an oath to Palpatine. We swore the oath to /Emperor/ Palpatine. So far as that goes, would it not follow we would be morally bound to fight against those who have attempted to destroy him? While his body has been gone for some time, his ideas and presence has not. This alien scum has set out to destroy him. From my perspective, we are serving the Emperor by destroying this imposter." Thraken smiles faintly at the comment, loving how he can simply turn things around and make them sound better. Juran lifts up his capped flask. "I swore an oath t' my bank account once. Does that count?" He sneers, "This Emperor is bad fer business, he's bad for the empire in general. Aye?" He shoves his hipflask away, leaning back in his seat. "So y'cut out the bad, stick in the good." Damien nods in acceptance and agreement, "But...how are we to deal with those who would disagree that the oath is to the position, and not the person. Are we to simply kill all who stand in our way? Keline glances over at Damien sketpcailly. "I don't think that's even a possiblity..it's been said that there is more of them out there then we have in this room." Looking across towards Damien with a look of smug superiority, Thraken shakes his head and says slowly, "There are various other things you can do that cause far more damage and pain than killing someone. I would be able to, given time, think of many of those. It is very...amusing....to ponder such things." The Bureau agent continues to look at Damien, his cold calculating eyes trying to judge the other. - Caiton holds up one hand in a attempt to settle some of the conversation, "Admiral, what do you have in mind?" Damien's ice blue eyes stare back at Thraken, "But these are loyal soldiers of the Empire...their only mistake is following an imposter to the throne. They would be doing what they believe is the right thing by opposing us." Damien turns to the Admiral, "My apologies sir, but I just have a hard time with the thought of going up against my own brothers and sisters in arms." Danik looks to each man and woman as they respond to Danik. "The support of the Privateers will be much appreciated and valued, Mr. Reinzhimer. The military is efficient, but the Imperial Navy somewhat lacks in your area of specialty," he says, grinning. "And I want to thank you all for supporting me in this quest. You all make an old war horse like myself still feel appreciated in this galaxy." He puts on his patented smile before returning to his seat. "I understand all your qualms," he says, looking from Dareus to Caiton and the rest. "The Rebellion could very well be extinct by now if the military hadn't been stalled by Vadim." As the attendes begin to discuss the situation amongst themselves, Danik feels the need to intervene. "Allow me to clarify certain issues," he says, clearing his throat. "Vadim is in power for one reason, and one reason alone: Darth Malign. Through him, Imperial High Command was manipulated into accepting Vadim. However, High Command has the same concerns that we do; Vadim is a plague that has only brought no good to the Empire. What High Command needs is an incentive to repel Vadim. And I believe that incentive is us. I believe I still have some level of pull over High Command... I am Supreme Commander, after all," Danik says, smiling broadly. "And we have sworn no oath to Vadim. How does one swear an oath of loyalty to a being that did not even exist within the Empire until only recently? He appeared from the shadows and expected us to listen to him. And what did he say? He trashed our New Order. How do you think agents of COMPNOR feel about such an event? COMPNOR is sworn to preserve the New Order that Palpatine created; when a being threatens the New Order and calls Palpatine a fraud, COMPNOR will do its job. Like High Command, they need an incentive, and we will be that incentive. And the Military, my friends? What concern do we have the military will support Vadim? Vadim has openly called the military self-serving and has leashed it; and, ladies and gentlemen, assembled here is the *leader* of the Imperial Military. We have a Commodore leading the Empire's most prominent naval task force. We have starfighter legends. We have Stormtrooper legends," he says, referring to the absent Cantrell. "The military is already ours. They just need to know I'm still alive and that we will no longer stand for the injustices Vadim has wrought." "I do not want this to be a Fourth Civil War. I do not want to kill fellow Imperials. And that is not what will happen. The enemy of the Empire is Vadim. All soldiers of the Empire realize this, I assure you. They just need the incentive to rise up. And then, in the end, who will be there to support Vadim? No one. He has no legitimacy, no right to rule. All it will take is a simple matter of coming out, declaring our cause, and wait as the Empire flocks to our banner. Vadim will have nothing besides his cadre of Sith." Keline listens quietly to Danik's words before she clears her throat and leans forward to speak quietly. "Could some stay with him, Admiral, if we do declare? I don't want to be the one to be branded as negative, but is it possible?" Frowning slightly, Thraken does look to the Grand Admiral and offers a tiny cough. He waits another moment before he says slowly, "Grand Admiral, while I am most assured that you are correct in the fact that the Navy will side with you...what of the people. Most military tacticians do forget about the civilian population. Yes you have the guns and the warships, but without the civilian population supporting us I do worry about the maintenance of the Empire and your marvelous toys..." - "Yes, it is possible. Many of us, including myself, have spent more than a decade obeying orders without hesitation. Without voicing our own opinions or second guesses. Many, many of our personnel follow orders because this is what we do," Caiton says quietly in reply to the voiced question of her XO. "Some will declare for Vadim because it's expected, because they want to hedge their bet, or because they see the title and the banner and blindly follow because it's what they are trained to do. There may be some large spread re-education required, Admiral." Nodding in agreement with Danik, "The key to the Empire has always been the military and other special branches such as the Bureau and COMPNOR. Without it; no one can keep the throne. It's a simple fact. Naval High Command simply needs the right person..." He takes a quick look at Danik before looking back to the group of people he's with, "to remind them of who they are. The concern of the Navy not being on our side is of little consequence, Commanders will follow the orders of the Executor, and he's in this very room. What concerns me, and Commander Inrokana, is the fact of the New Republic getting wind of this early, and making use of the...changing of the guard; and attempt to regain lost territory." Taking another sip of his whiskey, he adds a very dangerous other piece to the puzzle, but in a lighthearted way, "And the Sith of course...quite frankly I cannot see COMPNOR walking up to Malign or Korlov and simply placing them under arrest." He looks back to Danik, "And they definately will not be on our side." He leans back in his chair again, taking a sip, and grinning a bit towards Caiton, "Although, putting a proper Heir to the Empire on the throne may just give me an excuse to shine up my pilots wings once again." Danik looks to Keline and Caiton, nodding solemnly. "Yes, it is possible, unfortunately. All we can hope for is that the military recognizes our banner, the banner they have fought under for so long, and will support it. However, rather than reaching out to every individual soldier and Naval personnel, it would be much more wiser instead to reach out to their commanders, the men and women who are more likely to see things our way, who are more likely to support their Supreme Commander over an imposter who leashes them," he says, sitting back in his chair and thinking of all the possible outcomes this revolution could entail. "As for the matter of the civilian population, however," he says, looking to Thraken. "I would not be so concerned. Look at Imperial Center, for example. There the average Imperial citizen lives out his life, works, provides for his family, and so forth. But those are the very same citizens who were under the control of the Republic for many years. People just didn't leave Coruscant because its government changed. What truly keeps the citizens in line is COMPNOR, and to a lesser extent, the military. We already have control over most, if not all of the military, though that is debatable, of course. COMPNOR, however, is another story all-together." "I was a member of COMPNOR's Select Committee. More than that, I have good friends in COMPNOR who all see things my way. And I can assure you COMPNOR will not sit by and watch the New Order be ripped apart, and Palpatine treated in such a manner. That's why I'm looking to you, Mr. Halwinder," he says, looking over to Solon, "to spread the word in COMPNOR of our intentions. COMPNOR will back us up, they just need to know of our existence, our plans. With COMPNOR, we control the citizenry. And, also, hard-liner Imperial citizens must have smelled foul play when they heard Vadim's galactic address. They won't need much convincing to oust Vadim." Solon_Halwinder smiles. "I would like to think I am a bit more useful then that, Danik. But aye, I will speak to the others. Korynn may be hard to persuade...but also, I do not believe he will actively oppose you in either case. Not if I do not oppose you." - Caiton sips again from her glass before she nods to Solon in agreement, "Fleming is the System Director, Admiral. And he does not take his oaths and responsibilities lightly. If we cannot persuade him to our side of this fight, then he will be a powerful foe," she adds bluntly. Danik nods his head. "Of course. The Courts will also play an important role, I assure you. But that is another matter entirely that we have yet to arrive at. I doubt most members of the Court appreciate their current status under Vadim," he says, smiling at Solon. "We'll have to change that." When Caiton speaks up, he listens. "I understand. We will all have to do our best to ensure he sees things our way." Damien simply stands there for a few moments with his arms crossed, his eyes seeming to stare off into nothingness. Finally he looks back to the group and nods his head, "Whatever it takes Admiral, you know you have my fighter. I followed you to Coruscant, I will follow you now wherever you take us." Keline remains quite, listening to all as they speak, as she takes a quiet sip of her tea. She chuckles quietly as she settles her cup on the saucer. "My life keeps getting more interesting by the moment..but I'll come along. Danik then turns his attention to Ambassador Dareus. "Good point, Mr. Ambassador. That is why we will ensure the highest level of security in our meetings. The Rebels cannot and will not know of our plans. For the time being, however, I believe they are too busy licking their wounds to devote any counter-offensive efforts admist an Imperial crisis. But time continues to run out as Vadim lets them regain strength," he says, with a hint of sadness. "The Sith will be dealt with accordingly. That is a subject that will have to be taken with the utmost consideration. They are a deadly foe..." Looking directly at Danik, Thraken has the faintest of grins upon his face as he says, "Indeed the Sith are a threat. But, I would not think even the strongest of Sith could stop say...a high yield proton bomb capable of taking out a city. If a loyal...citizen...were to detonate one that took out the Sith, and was able to be blamed on the Rebellion...it would prove helpful on all fronts." A menacing grin forms onto Thraken's face as he says it, what little emotion that was on him drains away. "Eh.. Gotta admit. S'apoint.. I dun think anyone wants t'fight a Sith mano a mano, unless they're a sith, or they're a bloody looney." Juran adds in, "Tho' a thermal det in the bed chambers while sleepin'? Boom. Ain't naebody gonna be able to fight back. And then afterwards y'can fire a nade' or two extra inta' t'place, just t'make sure.." Juran waves his hand a little bit. - "Collateral damage is not a good suggestion," Caiton states with characteristic bluntness. "If we do this, then we do it clean, fast and with as little fanfare as possible. Vadim stepped in without warning and use his MO to do the same. Take the power away from him, eliminate his presence as a contaminant, and start to set to rights the Empire the way it should be. But if we make it loud, messy, bloody then it sends a signal to the Empire, to the Rebels, that this was a coup de etat, which it is. But we have to be more organized than messy." "Suicide bombings? Are we that barbaric to resort to such a thing? A bomb like that could even take out innocent people...then we are no better then the Rebellion" Keline rests her hands in her lap as she looks over at her Commodore, her professional countenance not quite managing to conceal her uncertainty, as she speaks. "Attacking only Vadim is a good idea..but how do you get that far? He will have guards, scanners all over..unless he can be killed with a firm handshake I don't see it. "Unfortunately, most conventional attacks on a Sith lord are quite useless. They tend to see it coming." He looks over at Caiton with a wry grin, "Of course, there are other measures to help keep them busy. If not, finish the task for us." It's probably one hell of a gamble to bring it up, but he decides to anyway; so he looks at Danik, "While they may not be friends or allies...we should keep in mind as a fallback plan, that the enemy of my enemy, is my friend. We're not the only ones in the galaxy who want them to be out of the way." He takes another sip of his drink, "Conventional attacks, are useless, essentially so are covert operations. Lord Malign is randomly in other places, and rarely somewhere that we couldn't end up harming innocents in the process. It's too great of a risk. We're not terrorists. We're liberators. As dumb as it may sound, I believe that Commodore Caiton and myself have a plan that just may work; should no others be feasable." Letting his air come through his noise and make more noise, he sighs faintly. He waits yet another moment before he says cooly, "You may call it barbaric, but it would work. We must eliminate the Sith and my plan is a possible way to do just that. The ends justify the means in this matter. And besides, outside of this small circle and whoever we find to manipulate into destroying the Sith...the population at large would not know..." Damn he is good at being a spook. Thraken's cold eyes do look around the crowed again, knowing that he probably sounds insane. As Danik listens to the ongoing discussion, listening to the varying viewpoints and concerns, he finally decides it's time to bring up one important bit of information. "Excuse me, but I do have a concern I'd like to bring to your attention before we go any further..." He stands up, looking up at the portait of Palpatine before turning back to the assembly. "I'm not sure Vadim's backstory entirely. I met him once. What I do know is that he, or it, is not human. Whatever species it is, it's capable of shifting its appearance, shape, everything about it, to conform to whatever it desires. Or, more importantly, what -you- desire. Initially it appeared to me as a masked being in a cape. Then, right before my eyes, it altered. My ancestor, Davin, appeared and spoke before me." Danik seems a bit troubled by it, but he keeps his demeanor. "If we ever do confront him, he can appear as Palpatine. As Valak. As your own parents. Your loved ones. He will do whatever tricks he must conjour up to deceive and defeat you... just be warned. Do not let his parlor tricks confuse you." - Caiton nods to Antoine in return and picks up the ball again, "Our idea is rather simple, if you consider it objectively. We need to distract the guardsmen that surround the Emperor. Then while his guards are distracted we move in to lend additional support and defense of his royal Person. Bring in assets, " She pauses before explaining those other assets, "and our suggestion is to alert certain other Talented individuals to lend assistance. Think of this as a surgical strike. Distract, infiltrate, distract again, eliminate. Nothing is easy, but.. it is less messy than other options." "Well.. Y'all might not be terrorists, but s'what my first job for the empire honestly was. Like it or no'." Juran mumbles, lifting up his hands to rub his eyes, "O'. Ain't 'at bloody great, a shapeshiftin' Sith. S'the least thing we need, somethin' that can change into a propa' form t'mess with yer mind.." He grumbles, "'ats right.. how are w'meant to know iffin' we got 'im or no'?" "It won't bleed human blood, Lieutenant," Danik says, grinning towards Loki. - "Once he's dead, or whom we presume him to be is deceased, I will examine the remains thoroughly before submitting the final answer as to the verification of the deceased," Caiton suggests. Damien looks to the commodore, "Who we presume to be him, ma'am? IF we attack someone we think is him and it turns out not to be the jig is up for us and Vadim will beef up his security till we can't even get close" Keline laso glances at the commodore. "And if it shows us what we want how do we know that who is there with us won't try and stop us from doing him, her, or it in?" - "That would be why we're calling for additional Talent's to verify the target," Caiton says quietly. As the identity concerns go around the room, Antoine places his empty glass down and grabs another, standing up quietly, and pacing slightly around the room, before adding to the plan that he and Caiton seem to fully endorse, "The dark side is the most powerful part of the force. Easy to find..." turning around, finishing a small sip, "For a Jedi." "We are suppose to bet on the future of the Empire on 'additional Talents?'..." Damien slowly turns to face Antoine, "Jedi? These are the talents? You expect the Jedi to help us? By Palpatine's Ghost they would more then likely laugh at us while they prolong our struggle against Vadim to help the Republic's cause" Keline nods in agreement with Damien. "The Jedi's apparently generosity doesn't extend to us..they're not -that- naive, are they?" Danik keeps silent for a few moments as the subject of the Jedi is introduced. "I fought alongside Jedi during the Clone Wars. I hunted them down when they tried unsuccessfully to assassinate Palpatine. I've fought them one-on-one many times. I know their philosophies, their beliefs. I know how they view the Empire, the Sith. While we must exercise extreme caution if we were to use the Jedi, I can assure every one of you that the Jedi will perceive Vadim as the greater threat. We are but men, after all, and he is a Sith Master whose powers go beyond even that of Luke Skywalker. The Jedi aren't dumb, indeed - if they see an opportunity to strike at Vadim, they will take it. That's why we would have to play it smart, ladies and gentlemen - kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. Let the Jedi deal with our Sith problem, and then deal with the Jedi in our own way..." "Then comes another problem, eh? 'ow are we gonna get t'Jedi anywhere near Vadim? E's a sith master, n' that means he's probably gonna sense em' comin' before they arrive, right? Or does 'at mean we're gonna be transportin' Jedi into the Empire?" Juran shifts his hand to rub down the bridge of his nose, before he goes back to relaxing in his chair. He nods slowly, "The best strategy there is. They are historically bound to fight the Sith above all else. In the meantime, you may call me insane, but for those of you who have fought in battle with Lord Malign..." Dareus takes another sip, and leans slightly forward on the back of the chair which he was formerly seated at, "I'd rather have some help from our enemies, than run into the Imperial Throne room, and try to go hand to hand with the one thing, that makes Malign scared." A few finger taps on the chair, and he adds, "A non-human Emperor, albeit some disgraceful shapeshifting one...will almost certainly sense something, maybe even now. We can't be sure. But when the time comes, we also can't be sure that he doesn't have the two others with him as well." Straightening the tie slightly, he begins to walk about the room again, slightly, "One sith is bad enough for us to fight. But remember that there are 3. Together, the only two possibilities that seem sane would be some mass attack, which is strategically stupid; or a simply calculated strike using the Jedi's own instincts, that even they cannot control." Taking a look at Juran, he looks back to Caiton and Danik, "I assume that Vadim is on the Malevolent. Most of us here, myself included, at least can get them onto the ship. With the people on board not exactly resisting. We simply walk into the throne room." Well, it sounds simple at least. Keline leans back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other in a distinctly non military way, as she turns to look at Danik himself. "And what would I be doing? Most others seem to have a place..but I'm not much of a fighter outside of a Star Destroyer, Grand Admiral..what would my duties be?" "Same here. I am a fighter jock....say we can get the Jedi on our side. What if they lose? Vadim is very powerful. What if the plan fails?" Damien addresses the last part to everyone as he looks around. "You are Commodore Caiton's exeutive officer, no? Your duties will be delegated by her, naturally. Assisting the Commodore in her endeavors, keeping the crew satisfied, recruiting more to our cause. You are a commanding officer, after all, and as I said earlier, it will be the commanders who we need in order to gain the loyalty of their crew and soldiers." Keline nods, perhaps looking a little embarassed at such an obvious answer, before she responds with a "Yes, sir." - "As to how to contact the Jedi," Caiton chimes in after a few minutes of silence while listening to the conversation fire back and forth, "I believe that I may be the best delivery person." Her gaze shifts from Antoine towards Danik and back as she speaks, "I am in a unique position to speak with one specific Jedi and, as the situation may be, plea our case." Danik can only smile at Loki. "Lieutenant, Lieutenant. You're going to have to trust me on this one, unfortunately. We will succeed because we must succeed. Besides..." he says, winking. "Have I ever been wrong before?" Maybe a few times. A few times. Damien lets himself have a small smirk, "Yes sir...." Looking around a thought occurs to him, "What about after we 'succeed'. Do we just let the Jedi walk off the ship and back to the Rebels?" - "I would say Yes," Caiton inserts quietly, "as part of our negotiations prior to their participation I would presume that this would be a stipulation to gaining their assistance. If we back out of our own word at the end, then how does that make us better than them?" Damien looks to the commodore, "They are traitors to the Empire just as Vadim is. I say we use them towards our own goals and then arrest them as the terrorists they are...ma'am." "He is powerful. And Skywalker is a Jedi Master. Different sides of the coin." He smiles at the Lieutenant, "Besides, for the first time in the history of the Jedi order, they have an Imperial fleet, and legions of Stormtroopers to help them....although it will be short lived help." Taking a glance at Caiton, then back to Damien, "They would sense a trap. Easily. There is no need to turn the blasters around the moment that the Emperor has taken the throne. Time, is after all, on our side." Keline turns in her chair to look at both of them. "What good would arresting them do? It's not like it's easy to keep them in any jail I've heard of. Besides, once the game is over, you put the pieces back in the box but you don't throw the whole game out the airlock." Juran shakes his head. "Arrestin' em' simply means that any further lil' dealings we need t'do are completely abolished. Such things might no' seem probable, but y'never know. A lil' common decency goes a long ways.. Just let em' know that after we drop em' off, iffin' they come back without invitation, they'll be tried as traitors t'the Empire. Eh?" - "If we negotiate with them in good faith and betray our own words after they help us rid the empire of the poison that is Vadim, i repeat, how are we better than them?" Caiton replies directly to Damien, one eyebrow arching upwards ever so slightly. "There will come a day and a time. And speaking as one who has had the distinct displeasure of being in the presence of three Jedi to name and identify personally I can tell you that the mere notion of working with them makes my skin crawl. Taking out the Jedi is not the agenda for the moment. Taking out Vadim in." Damien listens to all the arguments against him and nods his head. "I will follow my orders. Just throwing in my two credits." "Well, ladies and gentlemen. I must say today was very productive. But I'm calling a recess. We shall meet together soon to discuss our plight further," Danik says, stepping to the front of his desk and looking at everyone. Danik can find some starking parallels between today and the formation of the Neo-Imperial Movement. But this time, Danik wasn't going to allow it come crashing down due to greedy insiders. "Thank you all for coming. You are true Imperials. Long live the Empire!" Sowing the Seeds of Revolution